Curious Souls
by 1ellie1
Summary: Kate and Sawyer meet at a bar and get talking. Mainly based around the quote Kate said during the I Never game she played with Sawyer “I never been married” Kate drinks “Didn’t last very long”. Was a One shot but made it into a fic. AU. Please review.
1. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

She leant back against the dumpster, breathing hard. Beads of sweat dropped off her fake golden locks as she sunk down to the ground. She focused her blurry, tired vision on her surroundings, she smiled. She hadn't done this for a while; smiling, even the word was foreign to her ears. She had a little bit more freedom inside her, even though she had to do something bad to be smiling. She stood, removing her dirty, tattered blonde wig and disposing of it in the dumpster beside her. She turned around to find herself looking at a large wooden cabin that had been turned into a bar. She wasn't sure if it was the heat getting to her or if it was real, but she could hear music seeping out of the opened windows.

She made her way around the perimeter of the cabin; she crinkled her nose and held her breath as she noticed random urine marks stained upon the wooden sides. She took a deep breath as she approached the door and prepared herself for a bar full of drunk, sleazy men. She didn't know why this time was any different to any of the other disgusting bars she had been to, this hadn't been her worst. She pushed the door open and walked in. As the door shut behind her she slowly dragged her eyes up to see; a long wooden bar with a bartender cleaning the surface. She kept her eyes focused on the bar as she walked up and sat on a stool.

"What'll it be sweetheart?" The bartender asked as his southern accent sung out.

"I'll have a beer" She answered.

She carefully surveyed the bar, turning her head slightly and looking around with her eyes. She was surprised how empty it was, there was only three other men in there.

"Always like this nowadays darlin'" The bartender suddenly said as he put the glass down in front of her. "Only the usuals come around now" He added.

She heard the bell on the door jingle and she turned her head slightly.

"Speakin' of the usuals…" The bartender said as he nodded towards the door.

She turned her head around and locked eyes with the unknown man standing at the door in the dim light; she could only see his piercing blue eyes. She felt a chill go up her spine; she cleared her throat and tore her eyes away from the stranger. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as he came up to the bar and sat next to her. Sprinkles of cologne drifted up her nose, she new this scent well, she had lived with a guy; Jason, who wore it all the time. She couldn't deny that she loved the smell; she held back a smile from coming to her lips.

Her mind drifted back to many nights with Jason, the man she thought she loved but didn't, she was living a lie with him. She instinctively reached into her pocket and drew out a ring. She looked distantly at it and twirled it around in her hands.

"Who's the lucky guy?" The man next to her asked, he was southern, must be from around here too.

She clasped her fingers around it, blocking it out from the world once again. She cast one more longing look at it before placing it back in her pocket.

"Why is that any of your business?" She returned sharply.

He chuckled and leant in towards her a little, for the first time she could see his face. He had thin; dirty blonde hair which hung neatly in his deep blue eyes, stubble was cast across his chin, cheeks and neck. She glanced down quickly and noticed that he was quite built. Suddenly, on that thought, he stood and removed the black leather jacket he was wearing, which brought up a little bit of the black shirt he was wearing underneath, showing her a muscular bit of tanned flesh. She could help but look; she scanned him once again and saw that he was also wearing scruffy blue jeans.

"Hava' nice look did ya sweetcheeks?" He smirked.

She rolled her eyes and turned back to her drink and took a sip.

"I do have a name you know" She spoke.

"And what may that be?" He asked.

The bartender flicked a switch and the lights came on, no longer giving the bar the dark, secluded look it had before. They both could clearly see each other properly now.

She hesitated, wondering if she was going to lie once again. She met eyes with him, there was something in them, like he knew if she was lying or not, like he could see right through her. Something she knew nobody could ever master.

"Kate" She answered. So she didn't lie, what was the point anyway? She knew she would be out of this bar soon and never see the guy again.

He nodded and downed his shot. Kate was intrigued now; she suddenly wanted to know his name. She wasn't normally like this, but somehow this was different, she had never experienced this.

"How 'bout you cowboy?" She asked with a smile.

He smiled but then paused, Kate saw him; debating with his mind whether to tell her the truth or not. She had gotten used to reading people.

"James" He answered slowly, and swallowed another shot.

Kate saw something, regret? Or fear? Kate soon realized James might have just as many skeletons in his closet as she does.

"You never answered my question freckles" James suddenly said and turned towards her. "Who's the lucky guy?" He asked once more.

Kate hesitated, was she really going to tell him? He was a stranger; she didn't go around telling strangers about her, she didn't even tell the people who she kept close. He was looking at her with those eyes again, making her want to spill everything right then and there. It was only one thing, couldn't hurt, could it?

Kate swallowed. "…I ran away, ran away from him…right out the alter, in my wedding dress and everything" She smiled sadly. She noticed that he was looking at her deeply, like he was actually interested, so she carried on. "I managed to find some clothes, I dumped my dress and ran as far as I could…and I ended up here" She said as she took a gulp of her drink.

He nodded. "I was wonderin' why you weren't wearing it" He said slightly smiling.

She didn't know what it was but she could feel something from him; she was suddenly drawn to him that little bit more. So her next words just spilled out.

"I didn't love him, thought I did…but I didn't. I was living a lie…I mean I was wearing a wig on my wedding say for Christ's sake" She confessed, smiling sadly. "It was wrong, I couldn't do that…" She paused for a moment thinking if she could actually say it. "…I was just about to say "I do", tears came to my eyes and I…I couldn't do it…so I ran" She stopped to regain herself, taking another drink. "I can't stop the guilty feeling inside me, I hate the fact that I never said goodbye…that I just left him standing there" She finished her drink. "Martini" She said to the bartender.

"Didn't he realize that you were wearing a wig?" James asked incredulously.

"We weren't together long, kind of a shot gun wedding" She smiled at him, hiding the real reason why she was wearing the wig. "I was being stupid, thinking I could fall for him that easy, I didn't know what came over me"

"Hey, if it weren't meant to be, it weren't meant to be freckles" He said and smiled. He finished his last shot and got up. "Well best be headin' out, maybe I'll see you again sometime" He said as he put on his jacket.

"Maybe" She answered.

"Nice meetin' ya Kate" He said and looked directly in her eyes.

"You too James" She smiled.

Kate turned and watched him leave; she wondered what else he was hiding, what else she could find out. She wondered if she would ever see Jason again, and if they met again, would he ever forgive her. She glanced back at the door, she wondered if she would ever see James again; ever meet him, just by chance or by accident. Anything could happen.

Probably a load of rubbish, I was frustrated so I wrote it. Thanks for reading. Please review! 


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Kate sat on the same stool in the same bar, drinking the same drink. She never would have imagined she'd be constantly coming back here, she thought she would be somewhere in Iowa by now. Yeah, she knew it would be stupid to go back there, that's why as soon as she got on the bus she immediately got back off. So here she was; Tennessee, sitting at the bar, fingering the empty glass in front of her. She had gotten used to isolation so she loved the feel of being in this bar, hardly anyone was ever here and she had come here so many times that the bartender new all of her drinks, and her usual time of turning up.

"S'not really you." The bartender suddenly said coming out of the back.

She drew her eyes lazily up from her glass to meet his. "Sorry?"

"Stayin' here after your time." He answered.

"Yeah well, I've got nothing to go back to." She muttered.

"You told me you gotta' house."

"I lied," She returned simply. "I've been staying in this worthless motel, it's a piece of crap." She added with disgust.

"Uhuh," He answered, he leant on the counter in front of her and continued. "Somethin' tells me you're waiting for somethin','" Kate looked up. "...Or _someone_." He added.

Kate looked down, he smiled. Maybe she _was_ waiting for him; she had noticed that he hadn't been here for the last month; she would think about him and think about what he was doing. But she couldn't really do that, she hardly knew him. She would find herself thinking about him at night, _always_ at night.

She would be lying in her bed, in that shitty motel, on her bed sheets that she managed to wash the stench out of. The room would be pitch black, only a few rays of light from the streetlamps shone through. The silence would absorb her, and then the night when they met would replay in her head, over and over again. It would drive her crazy sometimes, not getting any sleep because of him. But what she had realized was that; since she'd met him she had dreamt normal dreams, her other haunted nightmares would just slowly dissolve and disappear.

"It's him aint' it?" The bartender asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Excuse me?" She replied, a little dazed.

"_James_, that's who you're waiting for aint' it Kate?" He smiled at her. That was the first time he had acknowledged her as Kate.

"And what makes you think that _Vinnie_?" She asked, dodging answering the question and finally uttering his name aloud.

"Well, that fact that every time someone walks through that door you turn around to see who it is and when you realize it's not him you try to hide your disappointment, and that sometimes you stare at the stool where he sat next to you that night and the—

Kate stood, trying to block out Vinnie's words. She reached into her purse, laid the bills on the counter, and left the bar.

She stepped out into the pouring rain and looked out into the dark, foggy sky. Mindlessly she stepped out into the deserted road and looked up into the rain; she slowly lost herself in her own daze, not realizing the world around her, blocking everything out. So she didn't realize the car coming around the corner, or the honking, or the screeching of the breaks. Kate didn't even feel the impact of the car throwing her through the air, and the feel of her body fall and tumble to the floor.

Kate lifted her heavy lids open and came back into consciousness. Her vision was blurred and her head hurt. _What Happened? Where the hell am I?_ She thought to herself as she scanned her surroundings. She was in someone's house, lying on their couch, in what seemed to be their living room. Her mind was flooding with thoughts; all sorts of things were running though her head. She was worried now; she wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.

She made to get up but was stopped by a huge, sharp pain wash through her, she immediately lied back down. As hard as she tried, she couldn't remember what had happened last night. Suddenly the pain in her ribs increased and she let out a moan of pain.

Kate winced as she placed her hand on her ribs, she heard a door shut, a shuffling of feet and saw a familiar face walk into the room.

She smiled. "You." She managed to get out, not realizing how hoarse her voice was.

He pulled a chair over and sat down beside her. "Hey freckles, you feelin' ok?" James asked as he placed a blanket over her.

"Uh…I don't really know," She answered with a small smile. "What happened?"

"Well…" He smiled sadly. "…It was raining, I was in my car on the way to the bar, you were standin' in the middle of the damn road, I honked and honked…I tried to break as soon as I could but I was goin' too damn fast…" He stopped, Kate saw him clench his jaw in frustration.

She reached out and placed her hand on top of his. "Hey…it's okay, it was an accident."

He nodded. "…I'm…sorry." He said as he squeezed her hand.

Kate squeezed back, forgiving him, she knew he could understand. There eyes met and they were both slightly taken aback from each other. Kate found herself getting breathless; James tried to control his heart rate.

Kate cleared her throat. "Is anything broken?" She blurted out quickly.

James blinked. "…N-No no, uh…you got bruised ribs, there bad you need to rest for a few days, you sprained your ankle and hit you're head." He answered.

"And you know all of this, how?" Kate said with a smile.

"Had a doc round…Doctor Shepard I think, I got some pills for ya too." James said.

"Lucky me." Kate said sarcastically.

"You're amaaaazing." Kate slurred drowsily at James.

Kate was drowsy from the drugs and really had no idea what she was doing. The doctor had given her a mix of pills to take together, which was very amusing on James' account.

"You know freckles, if you're this cute when you're drugged up I might do it more often," He smirked. "Now c'mon lets get you to bed." He said as he wrapped his arm around her waist and she slung her arm over his shoulders, purposely sliding her hand over his shoulder muscles, feeling every soft indent there was.

Kate could feel the drowsiness beginning to wear off. She hadn't been aware of where she was, but as the drowsiness wore off she realized she was in James' arms.

They got into the bedroom and James took her over to the bed.

"Freckles you keep on touchin' me up like that, I'm gonna have to kiss you." James teased.

Kate turned her head, surprised but couldn't stop herself replying; "…Then why don't you."

James smirked, still thinking it was the drugs. Kate was surprised at her answer; she wasn't able to control any part of her body, including what came out of her mouth.

James sat Kate down on the bed, she suddenly became limp and fell forward, James quickly placed his hands on her waist and stopped her. He shifted his weight onto his knees, with Kate sitting on the bed and him kneeling down and holding her up they were the same height.

James shuffled forwards and their noses brushed. Kate tried to ignore this, her head was working fine, but her body was just refusing whatever command it was being told. Sawyer tried to move Kate back but stumbled and pushed Kate so she was lying down on the bed, as he kept hold of her the whole time he had ended up with his knees either side of her waist. Their eyes met and Kate giggled at the strange predicament they had got themselves into. James smiled at her; he reached up to brush a strand of hair out of her face but pulled his hand away sheepishly. Kate suddenly wanted to feel his touch, wanted him to feel hers. The drowsiness of the drugs had worn off but the heavy effect of her body was beginning to take over and she had no control over it. She felt her hand lift up and stroke his cheek; suddenly she lifted her head up and kissed him.

James was slightly taken aback at first; he brought his hand up to her cheek and gave into it. He let her kiss him and couldn't stop himself as he lapped over her lips. The kiss was just about to get more passionate but James pulled back, realizing what kind of state Kate was in.

Kate sat up and looked at him, her eyes full of question.

He sighed. "You're all drugged up freckles," He said as he stroked her cheek. "You prolly' don't even know what you're doin,'" He added as he stood up. "I'll just get you some water, be right back."

Kate watched him leave the room; she sighed loudly and rubbed her eyes. Yes, she was drugged but she _did_ know what she was doing. As soon as his lips were on hers it was like she hadn't even taken the drugs, she hadn't known what she was doing until that kiss. Now she just felt the low, dull dizziness and tiredness.

She heard the bathroom door close. _He must be in no rush._ She thought with a scorn. Kate stood and wandered out of the room, she came into a long corridor; to her left, right at the end must have been the front door and to her right was the kitchen. The room she was staying in was next to his bedroom, further down past his room was the living room. Opposite her was the bathroom that James was in and there was another room was next to it. Curious, Kate walked through the wide-frame archway into the kitchen, she heard James coming out of the bathroom; she quickly moved to the backdoor, opened it and slipped out.


End file.
